Can one make french fries in a microwave oven?

Really, the question is, why would one want to?

sure, the ones that come in tv dinners

You can, but only previously-prepared ones that come with something that is designed to crisp them. This is actually a complex thing technically named a "susceptor" - something that converts electromagnetic energy into heat. (They are usually built into the packaging and can be recognized by their grey or blue-grey color. Metal of some kind is usually involved.) It gets very hot in the microwave and can be used to "grill" or "broil" the food - producing the Maillard reaction mentioned in another answer, with browning, crisping, and added flavor.

It's unlikely that there's a way to make fresh french fries in a microwave oven. In particular, heating the oil would be extremely dangerous - don't try it!

yes, very soggy ones, but you can't call it fries because you didn't fry it.

It depends.

If you're just heating up frozen fries, then you can, but they'll be mushy.

If you make them from scratch (like, slice the potato yourself and everything) I don't think so.

EDIT:
A microwave oven, or microwave, is a kitchen appliance employing microwave radiation primarily to cook or heat food. Microwave ovens have revolutionized food preparation since their use became widespread in the 1970s. However many chefs find microwave ovens to be of limited usefulness because the Maillard reactions (a type of browning) cannot occur due to the temperature range.

MAILLARD REACTION
The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar, usually requiring the addition of heat. Like caramelization, it is a form of non-enzymatic browning. The reactive carbonyl group of the sugar interacts with the nucleophilic amino group of the amino acid, and interesting but poorly characterized odor and flavor molecules result. This process accelerates in an alkaline environment because the amino groups do not neutralize. This reaction is the basis of the flavoring industry, since the type of amino acid determines the resulting flavor.

In the process, hundreds of different flavor compounds are created. These compounds in turn break down to form yet more new flavor compounds, and so on. Each type of food has a very distinctive set of flavor compounds that are formed during the Maillard reaction. It is these same compounds that flavor scientists have used over the years to create artificial flavors.

Although used since ancient times, the reaction is named after the chemist Louis-Camille Maillard who investigated it in the 1910s.

Products with Maillard reactions:
caramel made from milk and sugar, especially in candies;
toasted bread;
malted barley as in malt whiskey or beer;
chocolate, coffee, and maple syrup;
self-tanning products;
roasted or seared meat;
dried or condensed milk.

SOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction

Unless they were those pre-fried ones that specify you could heat them in the microwave, they're really going to be gross and wet and soggy and they technically won't be french "fries" (as in fried) but more french microwaves or something like that.

Even reheated french fries usually are soggy and don't often come out so good, but they do in a pinch and as long as you don't mind the sogginess the taste should be basically the same. I've done it.

I don't recommend it.

I make microwave potato chips all the time. I imagine making fries would be similar but require some clever power switching to avoid making them too soft or too crispy. For chips, I slice the potato into thin chip wafers, line them one layer deep around an oiled pyrex dish, try to interleave the chips so that they don't make 100% contact with the glass everywhere, leaving gaps for air if possible; season with salt and anything else, sometimes tobasco sometimes pepper, maybe some vinegar, or just salt, and put on high for about 7-8 minutes, then flip them with a spatula and let them go another 2-4 minutes until golden, remove chips to paper towel, they'll crisp up as they cool. Fantastic. For fries I'd try something similar, making sure that each fry has a thin olive oil coating, but cook at %75 power for longer time, then follow up with a few minutes of %100 to brown. I bet it works but may take some experimentation.